Eco Initiative
Towards a sustainable and climate-neutral event
Plan your event!
In order to reduce environmental impacts of a meeting, PAP/RAC carries out the following actions:
- selects meeting location for its accessibility;
- selects meeting venue within walking distance from public transport;
- proposes accommodation within walking distance from the venue, or from public transport;
- uses meeting room of a size adapted to real needs;
- maximizes day-light use;
- uses self-regulation heating and cooling system equipment (when the meeting is held in-house);
- turns off lights and equipment when not in use;
- ensures free Wi-Fi access;
- separates waste produced at the venue (when the meeting is held in-house);
- keeps printing to a minimum and practices electronic communication with participants;
- reuses plates and badges, and encourages participants of the meeting to return their badge and put it in a "green your badge box";
- serves coffee/tea for coffee breaks (when the meeting is held in-house) in reusable cups and on reusable plates, and cookies purchased from the local producers;
- serves tap water in glass jars to participants (when the meeting is held in-house);
- minimises the need to transport food and other products and prefers local food.
Calculate your emissions!
A Carbon Footprint is “the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)”. Calculators for CO2 emissions enable us to measure the environmental impact of events, flight, car, households, etc.
MyClimate calculator for CO2 emissions: Calculate/compensate emissions from flights, cars, households, corporate, events, cruises, … (local/global)
10 Tips for reducing your carbon footprint:
Sustainability reports of PAP/RAC meetings
PAP/RAC 2017 NFPs meeting (3-4 May 2017, Split, Croatia)
Workshop to discuss the Regional Framework for ICZM and MSP (5-6 April 2017, Athens, Greece)
Sustainable MAP Operations Task Force
The objective of the TF is to further enhance the sustainability of the MAP events as well as other aspects of the operations of the MAP system. The main goal is to orientate the internal practices of the MAP System to enhance its operational sustainability with an emphasis on even sustainability in line with ISO 20121 requirements, for which the RACs could eventually apply when feasible.
What is ISO 20121?
ISO 20121 is a management system standard that has been designed to help organisations in the events industry improve the sustainability of their event related activities, products and services. The purpose of the Standard is to provide a framework on how to implement a management system to manage sustainable development issues - taking into account social, economic and environmental factors. Rather than being a checklist, it requires a systematic approach to addressing sustainable development issues in relation to event planning. It is aimed at the event organizer, rather than a single event. Successful implementation of an event sustainability management system will ensure continual performance improvement and management of issues rather than an ad-hoc approach.
Recommendations to participants on "green behaviour"
In order to make our meeting as sustainable as possible, here are some practical advices on "green behavior", which you, the PAP/RAC meeting participants, are kindly requested to respect:
- Print only what you need before traveling;
- Bring your own pen and paper to the meeting;
- Put your badge in the “Badge box” after the meeting;
- Use public transport (airport – hotel and vv.) as much as possible;
- Turn off any lights, TV, air conditioner or heater when you leave your hotel room for the day;
- If the hotel offers this service, take the energy-saving option of not having sheets and towels changed every day. And make sure it is enforced. If not, talk to the hotel managers;
- Recycle your waste: bottles, cans, paper, etc. where this option exists.
PAP/RAC, 2018